An Interview with Jessica Belshe

When Jessica Belshe was a rockabilly singer and burlesque performer, she thought that was adrenaline. Then she became an EMT, married a cop, became a mom, and took a job as a 911 dispatcher. But nothing gets her heart racing like writing a good plot twist.

Raised in the Sierra Foothills, Jessica writes romantic suspense inspired by the small-town drama she knows firsthand. She lives with her husband, their two kids, and old lady dog.

Jessica Belshe is currently seeking representation for her debut novel Hunting Autumn, while drafting her sophomore novel Harrington Manor.

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’m not someone who always dreamed of being a writer – it honestly never crossed my mind when I was younger. But I’ve always been creative. As a kid in the nineties, I wanted to be Britney Spears. I wrote song lyrics, made up dance routines with my cousins, and performed for our family. That love of performance stayed with me into adulthood, when I joined a traveling burlesque/vaudeville troupe and sang in a rockabilly band.

Writing didn’t come until much later – in my thirties.

In my early twenties, I went through something I didn’t fully process until years later in therapy. When it finally surfaced, I realized it had shaped me more than I’d understood. That’s when I felt the need to tell a story. Not just to make sense of what I’d been through, but to create something meaningful from it.

In 2020, I began writing my first manuscript.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

The book was inspired by my own experience of being catfished. At the time, it wasn’t just about someone pretending to be someone else online – it became this unsettling, almost paranoid feeling that the person might actually be much closer to home than they claimed, maybe even watching me. This was before iPhones and the technology we now have at our fingertips, so there was this eerie sense of mystery and lack of control. That fear, paranoia, and uncertainty stayed with me for years, and eventually it inspired me to write a fictionalized version of what I experienced – to take that trauma and really explore its emotional weight.

Needless to say, it was cathartic.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title was tricky to come up with. It took some time. I knew I wanted something that captured the eerie, atmospheric tone of the story, which takes place mostly in the fall. I tried other titles on for size but nothing felt right.

After I finished writing the story, I knew what the title was.

Without spoiling anything … the title might mean more than it seems at first glance (wink, wink).

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

I actually have a whole Spotify playlist!

The soundtrack would be a mix of old jazz – Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong – and fun, Halloween-y tracks like Louis Armstrong’s Jeepers Creepers, Dinah Shore’s version of Murder, He Says, and Kay Starr’s Headless Horseman. My main character loves playing vinyl on her record player, so that vintage vibe is a big part of the story’s atmosphere.

There’s also a lot of music from the late 2000s – 2008 to 2010 – which is when I went through the experience that inspired the book. Songs from that time really take me back emotionally: OneRepublic, The Fray, Snow Patrol, Lifehouse, Paramore, and Lenny Kravitz.

And then there are songs and artists actually mentioned in the story, like Fleetwood Mac and System of a Down, which should give you a sense of how varied the emotional tones are throughout.

The soundtrack is a little haunted, a little nostalgic, and a little heartbroken, just like the book.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

Something readers might not know is that I’ve spent most of my life showing up for people on the worst day of theirs.

Most of my professional life has been in emergency services. I started as a registration clerk and hospital operator in an ER – you know, that tinny voice over the intercom: “Dr. so-and-so, call this department, Dr. so-and-so, call this department, please.” Then I spent a decade as an EMT on an ALS ambulance, where I saw – and did – things I’ll never get out of my head.

Currently, I’m the communications supervisor in an emergency command center, overseeing a team of seven dispatchers who dispatch fire engines.

My experience in EMS, along with being a law enforcement wife, has changed the way I see the world. It’s absolutely shaped the way I write tension, suspense, emotion, and character.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I didn’t really read much for research, necessarily, but Verity by Colleen Hoover was the first book I read as an adult that completely grabbed me. It made me realize that there are books out there that can actually hold my attention – and that storytelling can be dark, fast-paced, and emotionally intense in a way I hadn’t really experienced before. That book lit the spark for me. From there, I discovered so many incredible authors: Tarryn Fisher, Jeneva Rose, Shanora Williams, Alaina Urquhart, Hannah Morrissey, and Hester Fox are just a few of my favorites.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

Don’t be afraid to just write. Get it out. That first draft is supposed to be messy and imperfect—that’s part of the process. You can’t edit a blank page, but you can shape a messy one into something good. I’d tell myself that done is better than perfect, especially in the beginning. Let it be raw. Let it be real. Just get the words down.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

Again, this story was inspired by things I experienced. Some of the scenes and conversations were taken directly from my life. If someone’s been through something similar, I hope they feel less alone after reading it. And if it resonates, I’d love to talk. DM me on Instagram, email me, whatever. I’m always up for connecting over shared experiences.

But honestly? I just hope people have a good time. I love stories because they let us escape, and I hope readers enjoy this one because it’s a wild ride.

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Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.